Pain Pill Abuse Continues to Increase

Treatment admissions for prescription pain killers have increased fivefold in the past ten years, according to the latest government statistics. This signals that prescription drug abuse continues to be a growing problem in the United States.

Although admissions for other drugs have dropped or leveled off, treatment for prescription drugs has increased significantly in the last decade.

These numbers are from the latest Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) reports from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Treatment admissions for prescription pain killers went from 1% in 1997 to 5% in 2007.

1.8 Million Sought Treatment

According to a SAMHSA news release, other findings of the report include:

• The percentage of treatment admissions for primary heroin abuse is at about the same level it was a decade ago (14 percent).

• The percentage of treatment admissions primarily due to methamphetamine or amphetamine abuse is relatively small. Admissions accounted for 4% in 1997, increased to 9% in 2005, then decreased to 8% in 2006 and remained at 8% in 2007.

• Although the proportion of admissions for primary marijuana abuse increased from 12% in 1997 to 16% in 2003, admissions have remained steady at 16% each year after.

In 2007, 1.8 million people sought treatment for substance abuse, according to the TEDS report. Alcohol-related admissions are still the largest share of those at 40%, but that share is down from 50% from 10 years ago.

The full report is available online.

More Information:

• Painkiller Abuse Increasing Among Older Adults
  
• Basic Facts About OxyContin
  
• Prescription Drug Abuse Increasing in U.S.

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